X MENThe XMEN were one of the most interesting New York City street culture
phenomena of the early- '80s. The XMEN started as a graffiti crew and
quickly expanded to become a multi-dimensional social and party
organization with membership from all over the City. XMEN membership
included writers, DJ's, rappers, break dancers, and roller skaters. The
XMEN were as renowned for their club-quality parties and hang-outs as they
were for bombing trains and neighborhoods.
The XMEN were a Brooklyn-based crew founded at Brooklyn Technical High
School in 1980 by the president TATU and the vice-president SOE 1. The
original members were TATU, SOE 1, RAZE 1, and RES 1. SOE was already an
established writer, having hit the J, M, LL, 6 and 7 lines during the
1977-1980 period. Some of SOE's most prolific pre-XMEN bombing was done
with DEZ, MACE, FED 1, BEE and WEE of The Crazy Partners-TCP on the 6 line,
and with FUZZ 1 on the 1's and 7's in 1979-1980. SOE also wrote under the
aliases BIG 279, LINK 2, and SAMPLE. TATU, RAZE, and RES were up-and-coming
talent who hit the 2,4,and 5 lines, along with many neighborhoods in South
Brooklyn.

This mix of backgrounds led to the XMEN developing their own
unique style and approach that was a fusion of old-school IRT roots with
Brooklyn flourishes and New Wave accents. The XMEN emphasized strong,
distinctive hand style, well executed throw-ups and soft letter pieces,
along with selective burners. The XMEN also emphasized a strong City-wide
street bomb to supplement their transit bomb. Unlike many writers who hit
their own neighborhoods, the XMEN not only thoroughly blanketed South
Brooklyn, but bombed any neighborhood they passed through, along with
strategically hitting many cement "permanent" spots on major subway
stations and highly visible public spaces throughout the City.

The XMEN
were a very tight knit crew and this all-out subway and street bomb effort
lead to a lot of confusion among writers and others outside of the XMEN
circle since the XMEN appeared to be from everywhere and hardly anybody
knew anything about them. Adding to this all-out city-wide subway and
street assault were the efforts of newer XMEN members TESS 1 and DJ NO who,
along with a strong presence on INDs and BMTs, also attracted the media's
attention with their highly successful mixed-media wheat poster and sticker
campaign in Manhattan. This was all well before the efforts of Cost and
Revs. As the XMEN bombed and partied, they grew in stature, membership, and
popularity. XMEN membership now included KEO 1, WEST 1, ANGEL DUSTER (RIP),
SEE 1, TORO, BALE, DEEN, the original SON 1 from the early '70s, and CESAR, among
others. XMEN membership was not limited to males and included female
writers like LADY 180, PAM 1, and MS 45 among others. The XMEN added INDs
and BMTs to their footprint in 1982 and went All-City from 1983-1984. The
XMEN were also the last crew to go All-City as defined by having hit every
line.

When the XMEN bombed INDS and BMTS in the early '80s, they did so in
the face of the strongest buff ever. While other writers were trying to
beat the buff with throw-ups that were easily removed by the MTA, the XMEN
strategically chose to do a highly stylized punishing insides bomb with
specially blended inks in custom-made super flooded markers with customized
tips that withstood multiple buffing attempts. This ensured that their work
would be seen barring the MTA completely re-painting the line. This
approach was especially successful on the MTA's fleet of freshly painted
white 7 trains. The white 7s were referred to as the "White elephants" and
the MTA took strong measures to protect them from being hit. The XMEN were
able to get around some of the MTA's security measures and totally demolish
insides on the 7s along with doing several pieces-much to the chagrin of
the MTA as they had to completely re-paint entire rows of trains. The XMEN
quit transit writing in 1986 and many of them went on to successful careers in business, art, and medicine. Currently, KEO is involved with the graffiti gallery scene and has put together several shows, most notably
the METALLURGY show of June 1999 which featured artists such as CHAIN 3,
KEL 1st, JAMES TOP, PART 1, STAN 153. SOE and others. KEO was also
instrumental in coordinating writers and gallery work for the Guernsey's
Graffiti Auction of June 2000. To this day, XMEN work from the '80s can
still be seen in parts of Brooklyn and the Bronx, and the mystery of "Who are the XMEN ?" still endures.